Protesters in Kherson, a Russian-held city in southern Ukraine, broke out Monday with machine gun fire, flash grenades and tear gas.
Ukrainian officials said at least one person had been injured.
“In Hersonissos, the occupying forces fired on people who came out to demonstrate peacefully, without weapons. “For freedom, for our freedom,” said the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a video uploaded today to social networking sites.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba bidded on Twitter, denouncing “Russian war criminals who opened fire on unarmed civilians protesting peacefully against the invaders.”
Videos broadcast by Ukrainian media show protesters moving towards the center of Freedom Square, shouting “Glory to Ukraine!”, And at the same time Russian soldiers moving towards them, before opening fire.
Video from at least two perspectives then shows dozens of protesters fleeing as gunfire is heard.
They were posted on social networking sites by two local media.
Nothing indicates that the machine gun fire targeted the protesters directly.
Kherson regional council official Yuri Sombolevsky said on Facebook that Russian forces had dispersed the crowd “by firing into the air” and using “tear gas, flares and grenade launchers”, causing many “casualties”.
In one of the videos, an elderly man is depicted carrying bleeding on one leg.
“The pensioner was seriously injured in the leg, he lost a lot of blood” and is being treated in hospital, according to Mr. Sobolevski.
“Nevertheless, the protesters did not disperse! “And tomorrow (today) they will gather again!”, He added.
Foreign Minister Kuleba called on the international community via Twitter to “stop Russia”, isolating it, imposing sanctions and ensuring that “war criminals are held accountable”.
Kherson, near Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, is the first large city (more than 200,000 inhabitants) to be captured by Russian forces since the February 24 invasion.
After it fell, there are frequent demonstrations of residents against the occupying power. At a large rally on March 13, Russian forces also fired warning shots.
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